Source: Times.co.szBy Khulekani NeneMalindza high school Head teacher Magijimane Matsebula has been summoned by the KaLanga umphakatsi for allegedly stealing a herd of 12 cattle from a Tibiyo TakaNgwane farm.Matsebula together with members of his family appeared before the KaLanga inner-council led by Headman Solomon Mbingo yesterday just before noon.On his previous appearance before the council, Matsebula was ordered to return home to deliberate with his family on how much he was prepared to pay as a fine for allegedly stealing the king’s cattle. Matsebula looked relaxed while standing before the umphakatsi council.He told the council that his family had met and decided that it was going to pay four cattle as a fine for the alleged theft of the king’s cattle.“So that we can clear the allegations levelled against the family, we can only afford to pay four cattle as a fine,” he said.However, the inner council did not seem satisfied with what Matsebula offered.“Are you aware of how much you are supposed to pay when you have tampered with property in the king’s farm? Since there are 12 cattle involved in this matter, when paying a fine, each cattle is accompanied by two cattle, which means you have to pay for two cattle for each of the stolen ones,” a member of the inner council explained to Matsebula.In response, Matsebula told the council that he only knows two of the 12 cattle adding that his family could only afford to pay four cattle as a fine.Headman Mbingo then postponed the matter to next year saying the council was taking a break following the commencement of the little incwala.“We are going to inform our superiors that the Matsebula family is only able to pay four cattle as a fine for the theft of the king’s cattle. After discussing with our superiors, we will call you, and that will probably be next year,” said Mbingo. On another note, it is not the first time Matsebula has been accused of matters related to cattle rustling. More....

Source: News.mongabay.comRaids in southern and eastern Africa yielded a stash of contraband linked to poaching and illegal logging, reports Interpol, which coordinated the operation.

The month-long operation, which took place from late September to late October, was conducted under Interpol's Project Wisdom and Project Leaf programs, which aim to combat elephant poaching and illegal logging, respectively. Some 660 people were arrested in five countries: Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Seized were 240 kilograms of elephant ivory, 856 logs, 20 kg of rhino horns, 302 bags of charcoal, 637 firearms, nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition, 30 chainsaws, 200 kilos of cannabis and khat, 65 pellets of heroin, 47 animal parts and 44 vehicles, according to a statement issued by Interpol, which went on to note that the wildlife products were often concealed within timber and charcoal shipments.

"Through this INTERPOL operation, we have identified major networks involved in the smuggling of elephant ivory and we have also seized significant amounts of ivory, as well as illegal shipments of timber and charcoal,” said Heri Lugaye, Assistant Superintendent of Police at the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in a statement. “We are still following intelligence generated from this operation and expect to make further seizures based on these collaborative efforts.”

Another 5 tons of ivory — representing up to 800 dead elephants — were seized in a related operation in early November.

The seizures represent only a fraction of the illicit wildlife products thought to be flowing out of Africa. Conservationists estimate that 22,000-35,000 elephants are currently killed each year to meet ivory demand in China, Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines. Photos.

Source: English.manoramaonline.comAfrican terrorist groups are poaching wild animals to finance their operations, purchase weapons and acquire other military supplies, an environmental organisation has said.

Elephant Action League said on Saturday that the horns of rhinoceros and the ivory extracted from elephants' tusks are sold in the black market at a higher price than gold or cocaine in some Asian regions, reports Prensa Latina.

An investigation by the league, titled as 'The White Gold of Jihad', says that 40 per cent of the illegal funds administered by terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab comes from poaching animals in African forests.

This illegal trade is profitable in areas where law-enforcement forces are weak or there is administrative corruption, and in zones where forest rangers lack the necessary technical resources, a spokesperson for the Elephant Action League said.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack in September at the Westgate shopping complex, in Nairobi, Kenya. The terror operation lasted three days and claimed 72 lives besides leaving 200 people injured.

In countries like Sierra Leone and Senegal, rampant poaching by terrorist groups and criminal gangs have brought some animal species to the brink of extinction, according to the league.

Nearly 30,000 elephants were killed last year in Africa. In Kenya alone, the population of those animals decreased from 167,000 to 35,000.

At least 825 rhinoceros have been poached in South Africa so far this year, but countries like Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia were also affected by poaching.

The ports of Mombasa in Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania are the main points from where rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks are shipped to Asian countries.

Source: IN.news.yahoo.comAfrican terrorist groups are poaching wild animals to finance their operations, purchase weapons and acquire other military supplies, an environmental organisation has said. Elephant Action League said Saturday that the horns of rhinoceros and the ivory extracted from elephants' tusks are sold in the black market at a higher price than gold or cocaine in some Asian regions, reports Prensa Latina. An investigation by the league, titled as "The White Gold of Jihad", says that 40 percent of the illegal funds administered by terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab comes from poaching animals in African forests. This illegal trade is profitable in areas where law-enforcement forces are weak or there is administrative corruption, and in zones where forest rangers lack the necessary technical resources, a spokesperson for the Elephant Action League said. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack in September at the Westgate shopping complex, in Nairobi, Kenya. The terror operation lasted three days and claimed 72 lives besides leaving 200 people injured. In countries like Sierra Leone and Senegal, rampant poaching by terrorist groups and criminal gangs have brought some animal species to the brink of extinction, according to the league. Nearly 30,000 elephants were killed last year in Africa. In Kenya alone, the population of those animals decreased from 167,000 to 35,000. At least 825 rhinoceros have been poached in South Africa so far this year, but countries like Malawi, Zimbabwe, Angola, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia were also affected by poaching. The ports of Mombasa in Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania are the main points from where rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks are shipped to Asian countries.

Source: En-maktoob.news.yahoo.comInternational police organisation Interpol said Friday it seized more than 240 kg of ivory and 856 timber logs and arrested 660 suspects during a month-long coordinated operation across southern and eastern Africa. Interpol said they also seized 20 kg of rhino horns, 302 bags of charcoal, 637 firearms, nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition, 30 chainsaws, 200 kg of cannabis and khat, 65 pellets of heroin, 47 animal parts and 44 vehicles, Xinhua reported citing a statement. Heri Lugaye, assistant superintendent of police at the Interpol National Central Bureau in Tanzania, said they identified major networks involved in the smuggling of elephant ivory during the operation from Sep 26 to Oct 26. "We have also seized significant amounts of ivory, as well as illegal shipments of timber and charcoal," Lugaye said in the statement. "We are still following intelligence generated from this operation and expect to make further seizures based on these collaborative efforts," he added. Concern is growing among conservationists that the endangered African elephant is currently grappling with what could be the worst crisis to ever hit them since 1989 when international commercial trade in ivory was prohibited. Wildlife conservationists say rising demand for ivory and rhino horn in Asia has caused a poaching crisis in recent years across Kenya in particular and Africa as a whole with over 1,000 rhinos having been killed on the continent in the last 20 months. Kenya has invested in state-of-the-art technology to strengthen the fight against wildlife poaching. The introduction of scanners and sniffer dogs at border points, airports and seaports is expected to minimize smuggling of ivory and rhinoceros horns. Interpol seized 1,700 pieces of ivory weighing nearly five tonnes early this month in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. More....

Source: Sadc.intSADC ministers responsible for Environment and Natural Resources Management have called upon key stakeholders and local communities to fully participate in efforts to strengthen the management of the region’s natural resources in particular, combating illegal harvesting of elephants and rhino. The call was made during their meeting held in Maputo, Mozambique on October 03, 2013 where the ministers noted with concern, the high rate of poaching of elephants and Rhino. The ministers reviewed progress on the implementation of regional policies, strategies and programmes in the environment and natural resources sectors. They agreed on a regional common position for the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP19) negotiations scheduled to take place in Warsaw, Poland in November 2013. They underscored the need for the region to consolidate its position and speak with one voice. The ministers also underscored the contribution of natural resources and the environment to the socio-economic development of the Region. They noted that the SADC Region is endowed with rich fisheries and forest resources and hosts the largest populations of elephants and rhino. However, these resources are threatened by illegal harvesting, over exploitation and the negative impacts of climate change.They approved the Protocol on Environment for Sustainable Development. The Protocol aims to enhance the protection of the environment, promote equity and sustainable utilisation of natural resources, promote the shared management of trans-boundary environment and natural resources, promote effective management and facilitate effective and coordinated responses to the impacts of climate change and variability. The ministers also approved a number of programmes developed to address environmental and natural resources challenges in the quest for sustainable development. These include the Waste Management Programme that seeks to facilitate the effective management of waste, the Forest Law Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme that aims to ensure regulated trade in Timber and the Regional Biodiversity Action Plan that is expected to reduce the loss of the region’s biological diversity and facilitate the restoration of the region’s rich ecosystems and their biodiversity. The meeting observed, with deep concern, the negative impacts of climate change on the region including increased frequency and severity of droughts, floods, cyclones and sea level rises.However, the meeting noted, with satisfaction, that most of the decisions taken at 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora which took place in March 2013, in Bangkok, Thailand, were favourable to SADC. More....

Source: Dispatch.co.zaBy Zipo-Zenkosi Ncokazi The fight against rhino poaching has been given a boost with specially trained tracker dogs thanks to StopRhinoPoaching.com and its partners. Elise Daffue from Stoprhinopoaching.com said the ongoing project had begun last year. The dogs are trained at the Mechem Dog unit, which is a division of Denel, a stateowned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate based in Pretoria. She said length of training varied from dog to dog, and handler training was eight to 10 weeks long. “We were approached by Mechem, which wanted to get involved and to date we have trained over 20 dogs that have been deployed in over four provinces, including the Eastern Cape, and in Swaziland,” said Daffue. She said the dogs would assist in tracking and apprehending scent. “So they’ll follow poacher spoor and find everything he drops along the way as well. This is especially useful as any item can be used as evidence. The majority of our dogs are also trained as apprehension dogs, so, if appropriate, the dog can be released to take someone down. “We have a few reserves on a waiting list that could really use dogs. These reserves are obviously vetted,” added Daffue. She said rhino poaching was a growing threat in the Eastern Cape, home to established breeding populations of the endangered black rhino. “The survival of these unique elements of our natural heritage depends on the antipoaching personnel that guard them, so the tracker dogs will be crucial support as they will help speed up the pursuit,” she said.

Source: News.yahoo.comPress ReleaseLast week, Safari Club International Foundation held its 12th annual African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) in Livingstone, Zambia. Conservation leaders attending included wildlife management authorities from the nine African counties of Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as representatives from the safari industry, NGO and wildlife science sectors.The government representatives attending the AWCF delivered this week a letter to the Co-Chairs of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General Eric Holder. The letter presents their recommendations for the implementation of President Barack Obama's Executive Order Combatting Wildlife Trafficking. The letter recommends that the Task Force appoint Safari Club International Foundation to its Advisory Council to act as a liaison for the African governments who are the principle agents for conserving wildlife on their continent."It is distressing that Africa's governments were not included or even consulted on the U.S. government's new Task Force to stop poaching. This policy decision of the U.S. government directly affects Africa's communities, wildlife, and economies. To ignore these countries is an obvious misstep that needs to be rectified," SCI Foundation President Joe Hosmer said.During the forum, presentations on the global importance of hunting and tourism were made to the AWCF attendees. This spurred great interest on the part of both the African governments and the African professional hunters associations to embark on a socio-economic review of consumptive and non-consumptive tourism in Africa. SCI Foundation will assist in funding and managing this economic review.The Operators and Professional Hunters Associations of Southern Africa have also sent a letter to the Task Force explaining their integral role in Africa's wildlife management, and requesting official participation in implementation of the Executive Order. More....

I caught up with the wildlife activist on his return to South Africa from Singapore, where he’d been lecturing Asian delegates on the plight of the world’s rhino.

Colin Bell, one of South Africa’s foremost specialists in the wildlife industry explains why rhino will be extinct in 10 years if we don’t act now.

In a new twist to the poaching saga that’s had activists up in arms, Bell says South Africa must ban anything to do with hunting – especially of rhino – which would effectively turn the South African game farming industry on its head.

Asked what he thinks about government’s stance, he says, “I think Edna Molewa is being given incorrect advice from people including vets, game farmers and businessmen who’s thinking and suggestions are no longer valid in a consumer society.”

It’s an astounding statement, but Bell firmly believes South Africa is driving the ivory and rhino horn trade.

ADVICE FROM ASIA

One evening, after a lecture, Bell was taken aside by a prominent Asian official and given some illuminating advice.

Elephants, rhino’s and other wild animal species were, until recently, relatively safe in the southern region of Africa.

The killing spree which is decimating Africa’s wildlife started in Central and West Africa, from there the poachers moved eastward and now the countries in the south are being targeted. Some of these countries are harboring the biggest elephant herds and the last remaining rhino populations on the continent. The spread of cross-border poaching and its links to armed groups have quickly reached alarming proportions in the region. Stand-alone efforts by ministries responsible for the protection of wildlife lack the capacity to resolve this threat from aggressive, well organized, sophisticated and heavily armed poachers and traffickers.IFAW strongly believes that a coordinated inter-agency response by the region’s governments is critical to effectively deal with the rising tide of wildlife crime. No government or organization can organize and facilitate such a coordinated response alone. The governments of Botswana and the United States of America earn all credit to have started the initiative to create a Wildlife Enforcement Network for Southern Africa (WEN-SA). More....

A multilateral meeting is on the cards between South Africa, Mozambique, China and Vietnam to discuss poaching and wildlife trafficking, with a particular focus on rhino horn and ivory.

This was revealed by former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano in his address to the World Wilderness Congress, WILD10, in the Spanish city of Salamanca. In an exclusive interview with the Cape Argus, Chissano said a new company dedicated to enhancing wildlife protection, and with a special focus on rhinos and elephants, would be launched soon by the Peace Parks Foundation. The company would work with governments and all other stakeholders. Chissano is a board member of the foundation that was set by the late Dr Anton Rupert, who approached him in May 1990 to discuss the possibility of establishing a permanent link, or “peace park”, between protected areas in southern Mozambique and their adjacent counterparts in South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. This eventually led to the signing of a treaty in 1992 for the formation of the Great Limpopo Transfontier Park that includes the Kruger National Park, Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park. In his address to WILD10, Chissano explained why he had agreed to talk to Rupert and helped to set up the peace park, even though South Africa’s apartheid system had still been in place at the time, in order to promote peace in the sub-continent, and said he was still “delighted” to be involved in the foundation. More....

Cattle rustlers are now targeting children as young as 12 years old to herd and steal livestock after threatening them with violence and death should they refuse.This was revealed by a distraught mother who shared how her son and two grandsons were recruited by a relative to steal cattle around Dvokolwako.The youngest of the boys is 12 years old while the oldest is 23 and the other is 16 years old.In separate interviews, the boys, in the presence of their parents, disclosed that they were forced into stealing people’s cattle by their relative. The relative’s name has been deliberately withheld as he has not been arrested and charged. The oldest, *Sipho said his uncle first inducted him into rustling by first stealing goats before graduating to cattle.Sipho recounted that they stole five goats at a neighbour’s homestead which were later slaughtered.“He promised to give me E1 000 for the job. However, he disappeared without paying me. I then decided to inform the owner of the livestock about what we did and he (owner) was livid,” Sipho said.shenanigansHe said his uncle got wind that he had informed the neighbour about their shenanigans and did not take kindly to what he had done. More....

In response to an ongoing poaching crisis that is dramatically reducing wild rhinoceros populations worldwide, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is taking immediate action to protect the southern white rhinoceros under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA provides a critical safety net for fish, wildlife and plants and has prevented the extinction of hundreds of imperiled species, as well as promoting the recovery of many others. By extending ESA protection to the white rhino -- the last remaining unprotected species of rhinoceros -- USFWS is closing a loophole that has been exploited by unscrupulous poachers and traffickers seeking to cash in on global demand for rhino horn. The action, announced September 9 by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell at the White House Forum to Combat Wildlife Trafficking, will protect the southern white rhinoceros as a threatened species under the ESA's "similarity of appearance" provisions and will aid international law enforcement efforts to fight poaching and crack down on trafficking in rhino horn. USFWS will accept public comments for 30 days on this interim final rule, although ESA protections will begin immediately, the agency said. "As both a transit point and consumer destination for illegal rhino horn products, the United States plays a vital role in curbing poaching and wildlife trafficking. Along with extending protection to the southern white rhino, we're evaluating additional regulatory and policy options in an effort to strengthen our ability to investigate and prosecute poachers and traffickers," said USFWS Director Dan Ashe in a posting on the agency website. "We have a long history in working to curb the illegal wildlife trade, and are committed to working with international law enforcement agencies to address current and emerging challenges." More....

Dr. Dean Hendrickson goes in with his scalpel and Dr. George Wittemyer goes in with his words, but both arrive in Africa with a mission: Elephant population control. The issues influencing numbers of elephants in Africa, a continent about three times the size of the United States, are complex. This might explain why these two are approaching the issues from very different standpoints; Wittemyer wants to boost populations, while Hendrickson is working to rein them in. Ten years ago, Dr. Mark Stetter, now dean of College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) came up with the idea for the Elephant Population Management program. He was working as a vet in South Africa, and started asking what big issues folks in the States could help with. Overwhelmingly, the response was elephants. “Some of the parks we worked at in swaziland didn’t have a tree left standing,” Stetter said. He approached Hendrickson, then at CSU, because Hendrickson had skill and experience with minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery in horses and Stetter wanted him to develop the procedure for elephants. The procedure takes about an hour, and allows them to get through about two to three elephants per day, according to Setter. It’s minimally invasive, with a quick recovery period, and little chance of postoperative problems.In Kenya where Wittemyer works, the opposite problem is true. Wild elephants are unprotected and vulnerable to poachers. More....

After an increase in cattle rustling in the Lubombo region, the community police have found stolen cattle at Nsulutane near Sikhuphe.According to the community police in the area, the cattle were stolen from different homesteads around the area by a suspected syndicate which sells the cattle to butcheries in Manzini.On Tuesday, community police, together with residents went on a search at Njojane and the operation paid off as they were able to recover a herd of 12 of cattle. Water Mabuza, a community policewoman and leader of the search party, said the herd of 12 cattle was found in a kraal at Njojane.“We were led to the kraal by a suspect who is currently in police custody. After getting information, we confronted a suspect who, in turn, did not waste our time but led us to the cattle. Here are three of the recovered cattle but the others are already with their owners,” Mabuza said while pointing at three cattle. Sibongile Nhleko, another community police, said she could not give a precise figure of the stolen cattle. “Since the beginning of the month, reports of stolen cattle have increased. You find that each and every homestead around here has a missing cow,” she said. Yesterday morning, residents convened outside the kraal in which the recovered cattle are kept and deliberated on what could be done to fight cattle rustling in the area.Those who attended the meeting included former Senator Robert Zwane and Seven days Tsabedze, also a former constituency councillor (bucopho). Interviewed later, Tsabedze said the significance of the meeting was to hatch new plans to fight cattle rustling in the area. More....

A police officer almost lost his leg after he was shot at by a relative while they were poaching at the Gorge Farm.This farm belongs to His Majesty King Mswati III and is found along the Buhleni-Madlangempisi public road.

This publication has gathered that Mfanuzile Msweli was shot at in the early hours of yesterday. It is said he was together with another unidentified relative who mistook him to be one of the animals they were poaching. They are said to have separated when tracking an impala. Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Inspector Khulani Mamba confirmed the incident. He said the incident happened at Gorge Farm and Msweli was rushed to hospital after he was shot in his left leg. “The matter was reported to the Buhleni police and investigations are still ongoing,” he said.This publication has also learnt that this is the second incident to be reported this month of persons who have mistakenly shot at each other during poaching. Just recently, a 70-year-old elderly man was arrested and charged by the Buhleni police after he shot at his relative while they were poaching. The elderly man, Ndabazezwe Dlamini, had also mistaken his relative to be the impala they were tracking. This incident happened near Herefords.

Bhekinkosi Ngcamphalala paid a very high price for allegedly being found poaching an Impala by game rangers.He has now been left partially blind after his badly injured eye was removed.

Ngcamphalala was among about six others who were ambushed by rangers patrolling Mkhaya Game Reserve last Monday. He was shot in the left side of the head by rangers who are said to have received a tip-off that poaching was in progress. “The eye was completely damaged,” he said during an interview. Ngcamphalala is currently a Form Five pupil at Sigcaweni High School.He hopes to still go ahead and write exams this year as he had completed the syllabus. He also admitted that he could not see clearly during the interview as he was only using one eye. The fourth alleged poacher, however, paid the ultimate price. He died. This is Mncedisi Fakudze, an 18-year-old who was a pupil at one of the primary schools in the Lubombo region and was laid to rest last week in Malindza. After the tip-off that poaching was in progress, rangers headed to the spot where a shootout ensued, resulting in the four being shot.After the shooting, the alleged poachers fled in a Toyota bakkie although information gathered is that they later told police that they were attacked by unknown men.It turned out that the unknown men they were referring to were in fact rangers. Swift acting police officers from Mpaka, however, received a call from the game reserve that the men who claimed to have been shot by unknown people were in fact shot by rangers after they were allegedly caught poaching. Ngcamphalala alleged that he was in the company of five others but had not been poaching when shot. He argued that he was at one of the farms next to the game reserve when he was shot at, adding that he usually goes to the farm as he sometimes works as a cattle herder. “We were driving in a car and the next thing we heard loud bangs,” said Ngcamphalala.A comment was sought from Kathy Wright from the Big Game Parks but she requested that a questionnaire be sent to her.

Unbelievable! Helpless farmers and taxpayers from Lundzi have decided to engage a Private Investigator Hunter Shongwe, to investigate and recover stolen cattle in that area. For a long time cattle rustlers have been stealing livestock (cattle and goats) at Lundzi and taking them across the border to South Africa where they are sold to syndicates who trade in stolen cattle.Farmers at Lundzi reported that they have lost 189 cattle with an estimated market value of E756 000 and 44 goats worth about E22 000. Farmers allege that they have reported numerous livestock theft cases to the police but there are no tangible breakthroughs. Farmers from Lundzi allege that: l They have lost many cattle and goats in that area over many years.l Livestock theft cases reported to police are never solved. l Some members of the police service collude with the people who steal their livestock.Following a number of meetings farmers have resolved to engage a private investigator to investigate their livestock theft cases and are contributing money towards his fees. In return, the private investigator has promised to investigate all cases with hopes of recovering some of the cattle. He promised to work with the police force from SA to solve the cases. Your Friend can point out that it is very hard to believe that members of our police service are colluding with criminals. However, it is equally hard to dismiss the farmers’ allegations as baseless given the fact that some police officers are doing time in jail for criminal activities that include livestock theft. Some police officers have been charged with serious crimes like armed robbery and murder. More....

Angry residents have alleged that a top police officer is behind the theft of 233 of their livestock.They claimed to have lost a herd of 189 cattle and 44 goats.The residents have claimed that the officer is implicated in the rustling of their cattle and goats from the country to South Africa. This was revealed during a meeting between Private Investigator Hunter Shongwe and Lundzi community members on Saturday. The meeting was held at Mpuluzi Sports Ground.The officer’s name was mentioned during the meeting but will not be named for now. The residents claimed that they recovered some of their livestock in various farms in neighbouring South Africa. The residents alleged that they found the suspect with documents and cellphone messages from butcheries in South Africa which detailed how he sold the cattle to them.Most of the community members alleged that their livestock were stolen during the day at the grazing veld. The residents said they were concerned by the growing number of incidents of cattle rustling as the last incident is alleged to have occurred in May. Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Superintendent Wendy Hleta said police were still investigating a number of stock-theft incidents in the country. She said a number of cattle had been recovered in South Africa and were being brought back to the Swaziland.“The police service has structures and if there are people who have a complaint against a certain officer, there is a relevant office where they can lay their complaints. I, however, believe that police are doing everything they can to attend to the matter of cattle rustling. I also believe that when they execute their duty, they follow the standard procedures,” said Hleta. More....

Mansions are springing up in the poverty-stricken villages lying along the border of South Africa and Mozambique. With air-conditioning and modern finishes, they lie in the midst of villagers who often have no access to water. Cars stolen from South Africa whizz by, sometimes driven by boys as young as 16. There’s music, women, drinking.

It’s the rhino war zone – villages that lie along the border between South Africa and Mozambique where warlords rule with impunity and young villagers are lured into poaching by wads of cash. “Picture a local rhino warlord, who just had millions of meticai, the currency in Mozambique, deposited into his account because of a successful poaching effort, slaughters several cattle to celebrate his windfall and gives the people in the village food to eat, and at the celebration are guards and supposed anti-poaching teams,” said Kingsley Holgate, explorer and humanitarian, recalling what he had seen in his latest expedition, the Izintaba Zobombo Expedition. The expedition is at the tail end of its three-month journey, and it took Holgate and his team along southern Africa’s Lebombo Mountain Range from near Punda Maria in the north of the Kruger National Park to the historic Ghost Mountain Inn in Mkuze, northern KZN. The expedition covered South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland, and the team met villagers, and spoke to community leaders and conservationists – people at the coalface of the rhino poaching epidemic. The expedition is backed by Project Rhino KZN, an association of organisations working towards combating rhino poaching, by combining resources and campaigns. Soccer games, school visits, cyclists, art competitions and plays have all been part of the expedition’s activities to engage the communities about rhino poaching. More....

Game rangers at Mkhaya Nature Reserve yesterday shot four armed poachers and one died after a shootout.

Two of the poachers are said to be admitted at the Siteki Good Shepherd Hospital while one was treated and discharged.

The deceased was part of seven poachers had trespassed into Mkhaya Nature Reserve.Visitors who occupied one of the campsites heard gunshots before dawn. The campers are said to have alerted game rangers of the suspected intruders and the sound of gunfire they had heard.Acting on the tip off, the rangers went to investigate and the suspicions were confirmed when they met seven poachers inside the game reserve.It has been alleged that the poachers opened fire when they were ordered by the game rangers to stop. “They tried to tell the poachers to surrender but the instruction fell on deaf ears as the poachers fired at the rangers and then there was a shootout in which the poachers were injured,” said a source close to the matter.Sources said the four poachers were shot as they fled the game reserve leaving behind game they had killed.Parked nearby was a vehicle, so far only identified as a Toyota bakkie, which they used as a getaway vehicle. One of the poachers who was shot was carried to the van as they escaped. More....

The fight against Rhino poaching in Swaziland has been boosted by the donation of a sophisticated rhino tracking vehicle by Human-itarian, Kingsley Holgate.Holgate, who is in the country for an eight-day study, announced the donation during an interview soon after a press briefing held at the Mbuluzi Game Reserve on Tuesday.Holgate described rhino poaching as a scourge, which was posing a great danger to the rhino species and African tourism.He said the vehicle would be based at Lavumisa. Holgate said the vehicle would be based on the South African side of the border mainly because its operations would be controlled by a South African based organisation called Project Rhino.“Even though the vehicle will be based on the South African side, Swazi Game Reserves will benefit since the vehicle is fitted with sophisticated tools that will track the movement of rhinos and poachers,” he said. Holgate further stated that similar vehicles were stationed in most game reserves in South Africa ad- ding that the method was very effective in the fight against rhino poaching.He said even though rhino poaching seemed to be on the rise at the Kruger National Park, rhino tracking vehicles had been effective in tracking down most poachers. The Kingsley Holgate Foundation further donated 20 bicycles to All out Africa, a locally based organisation, which deals with community projects and conservation research.Holgate said the bicycles were primarily aimed at developing mountain cycling in the Lubombo region. Meanwhile, the Foundation will also be hosting a schools art competition as part of its eight-day visit to the country. Explaining the terms of the competition, Holgate said competing pupils will be required to come up with drawings sensitising people about the importance of preventing rhino poaching.He said the person who comes up with the most exciting drawing would get an award.

A gun-wielding gang and a menacing-looking elephant were just some of the hair-raising moments experienced by a wildlife photographer on a trip to South Africa. Brian White, from Deane, spent seven weeks travelling across Zambia, including visiting the Luangwa Valley and Victoria Falls, to capture creatures in their natural habitat. He photographed animals including leopards, elephants and lions, as well as white rhinos, which are often targeted by poachers. Mr White, a member of Bolton Camera Club for about 10 years, now hopes to use his images to highlight the plight of the white rhinos. He said: “Poaching is pretty rife. A total of 668 rhinos were poached and killed last year. It’s terrible.” The former wedding photographer also plans to give talks and lectures about his travels, during which he stayed in hostels and campsites. While staying in a small town called Hazyview, he was awoken to the sound of a huge bang outside his hut, followed by about three more and flashes at his window. The 53-year-old said: “I got dressed and hid down just under the window. My heart was beating just a bit rapid. More....

The race to protect the world's rhino, elephant and shark populations from the bloody trade in animal body parts will be at the heart of key endangered species talks in Bangkok from Sunday. In its first meeting since 2010, delegates from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) will meet to assess levels of protection for animals and plants, as wildlife organisations warn of an increasingly desperate fight against poaching networks. Rhinos and elephants are already listed as protected species and their international trade is banned, with some exceptions. But poaching has reached alarming levels in recent years, leading to calls for stricter new measures. Host nation Thailand itself looks set to be at the heart of discussions.Seen as a hub for traffickers of all endangered species, the kingdom has been singled out for allowing the legal sale of Asian elephant ivory in its territory. Conservationists say criminals exploit this trade to sell illicit stocks of African ivory - which is practically impossible to differentiate from that of Asian elephants. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched a petition to ban all trade in ivory in the kingdom. It has already received half a million signatures that were presented to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Wednesday. Since coming into force in 1975, Cites has placed some 35,000 species of animal and plants under its protection, tightly controlling and monitoring their international trade. The 177 countries who have signed up to the convention - and must undertake measures to implement its decisions at home - will be seeking to add certain names to the protected list during the meeting at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, which ends on March 14. With poaching continuing to devastate some species, there will also be pressure to find tougher tactics to curb the networks supplying voracious demand from Asia, where wild animal parts are sought as trophies and for their supposed medicinal properties. More....

According to a report published by WWF, the illegal wildlife trade is now worth £12 billion a year and poses a threat to national security, prompting the conservation organisation to call on governments in source and consumer countries to step up their law enforcement. The £12 billion figure is significantly greater than older approximations, which estimated the illegal industry as being worth around £7-8 billion. The report also ranks it as being the fourth largest global illegal trade, though well behind the drugs, counterfeit products and currency, and people trafficking industries.Carried out by management consultancy firm Dalberg and based on interviews with representatives from more than 110 governments and international organisations, the report lands part of the blame with governments that continue to see the issue as purely an environmental one, despite the links the industry has with corruption, money laundering and terrorism. As such, nations routinely fail to prioritise it. "This is about much more than wildlife," said WWF international director general Jim Leape at a press conference. "This crisis is threatening the very stability of governments. It has become a profound threat to national security."

WWF's call to action echoes a recent speech by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who in November said: "Over the past few years wildlife trafficking has become more organised, more lucrative, more widespread, and more dangerous than ever before. More....